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All About Cataracts
Inside everyone’s eye is a lens.
Just like with a camera, the lens of
your eye helps you to focus on
things whether they are nearby or
far away. To work well, the lens must
be clear. As you age, the lens of your
eye gradually becomes cloudy. We call
a cloudy lens a cataract. The word
cataract comes from an old Latin word
for waterfall. Waterfalls produce
heavy mist that can blur your vision.
Cataracts have the same effect—
blurry vision. Looking through a cloudy
lens is like looking through a dirty
window—everything is blurred.
Everyone who lives into their 60s
develops at least mild cataracts. Early
on, the cataract process not only
makes your lens cloudy, it also makes
your lens swell a little bit. When your
lens gets bigger, you become a little
more near-sighted. So in the early
stages of cataract, simply changing
your glasses prescription will usually
restore your sight.
But as you continue to get older, the
cataract gets more and more cloudy,
and eventually not even a change in
your glasses prescription will improve
your sight. At that point, the only way
to restore your vision is to remove the
cataract. Cataract surgery is the most
common surgical procedure performed
on adults in the United States. The
procedure is performed on an outpatient
basis, generally takes a half-hour
or less, and recovery time is usually
only a few days.
Cataract surgery is a two-step procedure—
first the surgeon removes your
cloudy lens, and second, a new lens
implant is inserted into your eye. The
cloudy lens is removed with a tiny
instrument that enters your eye
through a small incision—usually oneeighth
of an inch or smaller—and
gently breaks the cataract into tiny
pieces that are then removed from the
eye with a miniature vacuum cleaner.
Once the cataract is out, you will need
a new lens in order to focus after
surgery. Artificial lens implants—made
of plastic-like materials—are used to
restore your ability to focus after
surgery. These implants come in many
different strengths, like glasses, and
before your cataract operation, your
doctor will perform several measurements
to determine the appropriate
lens implant strength for your eye.
Once your cataract is out and your
implant is in, the operation is over.
Most people see better within a day or
two after cataract surgery, but it is not
abnormal or worrisome if your vision
seems blurry for a few weeks after
surgery as your eye heals. Your doctor
will prescribe some eye drops for the
healing period after surgery, and if you
need new glasses after surgery, these
will be prescribed for you once your
eye is completely healed, usually about
a month after surgery.
Cataracts cannot grow back, but
sometimes a thin cloudy membrane
grows behind the lens implant, making
your vision blurry like the cataract did.
This is not uncommon—it happens to
roughly 40 percent of patients having
cataract surgery. If it happens to you,
a quick and simple laser treatment can
be performed in the office to make a
hole in the membrane for you to see
through.
Need more information? Call us at (303)293-9311.
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Today's cataract surgery is more advanced than ever. There are now replacement lenses available that can help you see better after cataract surgery than was previously available. Read more about Lens Implant Choices For Cataract Surgery
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